


The Door

by stranger12



Series: Three Six Six Project - The Leftovers and So On [3]
Category: Hostel (Movies)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 06:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13452162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stranger12/pseuds/stranger12
Summary: [Sequel to 2016 July 11th It is Futile & September 14th With a Broken Bottle in Hand] Paxton is a prisoner, and Beth is a jailer





	The Door

Beth paused in front of Paxton’s door and eyed the heavy duty lock on it. It had been like that ever since they returned from Chicago, and some nights she couldn’t fall asleep, afraid that if she closed her eyes, the Elite would walk into her apartment and take her away, never to be seen again. Or she would become an attraction like Paxton had been – before she bought him.

She had bought a man’s death, and now she had bought a man’s life.

And he was locked in his room, likely awake as usual, ready for the moment she turned the lock and allowed him to leave.

Would the Elite do anything to her if she just left him there? Would Paxton do anything if she didn’t unlock him?

With a sharp shake of the head, she quickly turned the lock and opened the door. Sure enough, Paxton was sitting on the bed, staring at her with dark, cool eyes. His wounds from the day they met had long healed, but the brutality underneath his handsome features was impossible to conceal.

“Hey” - she tried for a smile, but unlike everyone else around, he didn’t fall for it in the least - “I made eggs” - he didn’t react, except to rise and walk over to her with the cautiousness of a predator and a prey all at once. He wasn’t that much taller than her, but with his broad shoulders, and impossibly aloof expression, she felt tiny under his gaze.

Paxton never spoke much, so as they sat down for breakfast, Beth didn’t expect much other than to witness him shove the food in his mouth so fast it was a wonder he didn’t choke on it. It made her think of dingy corridors and metal doors closing in on her, and Stuart’s screams, because that had been Paxton’s world for God knew how long-

“Would you like to go out today?” - she asked hesitantly. It wasn’t the first time she asked, however every time he had flatly refused with a harsh ‘no’ or a simple shake of the head.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” - he asked back, startling her into silence for a moment.

“As long as nothing happens, I’m sure it will be okay” - she replied slowly, and he opened a grin that was all teeth.

“Like me snapping your neck and taking off?”

The first time Paxton said something like that, Beth almost jumped to call the Elite, to request their assistance, to buy their help, and Paxton had laughed so bitterly, so cruelly, she had felt really stupid. Paxton had fought to the death for the chance to have a semblance of freedom – he wouldn’t kill her and likely suffer an even more violent end at the Elite’s hand afterwards, when he failed to escape. She caught glimpses of the Paxton from before the Elite in his vicious sense of humor, good looking and carefree, the type of boy who flirted with girls and befriended strangers.

Just like she mourned the girl who died with Stuart, she quietly mourned the boy Paxton was before he was grabbed and tortured by some rich asshole. He had never told her the entire story of how he came to get tangled in the Elite’s web, so she imagined it had been something like what happened with her.

“Exactly” - she tried to input some pep into her voice. He still didn’t smile, but his shoulders didn’t appear as stiff as before.

“What do you have in mind?”

She had to think about it. Since he had never accepted the offer to leave the apartment, she had never thought about what they could do – other than the first time, and even then, she had only thought about taking a stroll around the neighborhood, maybe go to the park. It didn’t seem like such a good idea now, though.

“Maybe shopping?”

His eyes drifted to his wrist and Beth remembered the day they returned, the day he seemed almost wild when he saw the lock outside his room, and when they both went in, there were clothes laid out on the bed with a charming note, almost like a wink, saying they were a present from the Elite, since Beth had been such a kind and generous sponsor. Paxton didn’t wear them for days, until he seemed to tire of his bloodied, filthy clothes and finally relented.

Nevertheless, she knew she would not be down for wearing anything the Elite had a hand in buying her, so she more than sympathized with him.

“You don’t have to spend your money on me” - he said, sounding a little combative.

“If it were me...” – he looked her in the eye with an intensity she knew she should fear, but then she remembered Stuart, and it didn’t faze her all that much. Not anymore, anyway – “I just thought you’d like to buy something for yourself. You know, choose something for yourself”

Neither ever mentioned the Elite by name. Even thinking about it sometimes made Beth want to scream and just-

“Okay. Thank you” – Paxton forced out, clearly unhappy about the situation. But he couldn’t work, and for all intents and purposes, he was dead to the world, so it wasn’t like he could dip into his accounts – if he had any.

It was a weird, uncomfortable feeling, to know he was so dependent on Beth. She was a much better jailer than the Elite, however a jailer was a jailer no matter how kindly they treated their prisoner.

After eating, Paxton put the plates on the sink and set out to washing them. Beth sometimes had the sad realization that he had likely been raised to be polite like that, and whomever was responsible for his automatic need to be a good guest would never know he was still alive. It gnawed at her, but she always managed to swallow it all.

Trusting him with the knives and the open window, no matter how high up they were, Beth went into her bedroom to quickly change, put on some comfortable shoes, grab her purse-

When she turned, Paxton was standing at his door, wearing a different shirt. For a split second, he was just a normal guy, a guy Beth wouldn’t mind being friends with, and then he went back to being the man she bought. Her guest, her prisoner, her responsibility.

“Shall we?” – she proposed, and he nodded.

The elevator ride was unnerving, and Beth’s heart raced when they stepped out of it. What if the Elite didn’t like her taking Paxton into the world? What if they were lurking in the shadows, just a moment away from tackling them and kicking them back into a world of darkness and torture and horrors? What if- What if-

“If they didn’t want us to go out, they would’ve done something by now” – Paxton stated in a calm voice, and Beth’s head snapped back at him – “They wouldn’t even have let us out of the apartment”

His tone was so sure, so resigned, so cold, she could only laugh nervously and nod.

She took charge, unsure whether Paxton would be more comfortable in a more upscale place or something more generic. Figuring she might as well go all out, she motioned to the first department store she saw and he didn’t even hesitate before following her inside.

“Beth!” – someone called out, and the brunette froze in place. She whirled around to find her father, of all people. Paxton moved to stand beside her, almost protectively, like he was ready to yank them both out of there if necessary, or perhaps he would snap someone’s neck that day after all.

“Dad” – she answered, and Paxton visibly tried to appear less wired up. Her father finally reached them and embraced her lovingly – “What are you doing here? I thought you were in Chicago this week”

“That was last week, baby” – he looked curiously at Paxton – “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

“I- Hum, yes, of course, dad, I’m sorry” – she took a deep breath to calm down – “This is Paxton, a friend of mine. Paxton, this is my dad, Andrew”

“It’s nice to meet you, Paxton” – her dad politely put his hand out, and Beth was horrified. She hadn’t touched Paxton, too scared of what might happen if she did, and now her sweet, innocent dad-

“Same here, sir” – Paxton easily took the proffered hand and shook it confidently.

“You kids doing some shopping today?”

“Yes! Paxton is new in town, so I, hum, wanted to, er, show him around. You know” – Beth explained, still trying to make her heart stop beating so fast.

“Huh. Well, okay, that’s not weird at all” – her dad shared a smile with Paxton, even though the young man didn’t quite manage to grin back – “My daughter is not too fond of shopping, actually, but I’m sure she can help you out”

“Yes, dad, thank you”

“Sorry, baby. Well, I won’t keep you guys, so... But let’s have dinner this week? Please? I feel like I haven’t seem you in so long, baby”

It wasn’t that far from the truth – since Paxton came along, she had seen her father only a handful of times, and every time she had guiltily locked Paxton in his room before she left.

“Of course”

“And bring your friend along, if he’s staying in town long. Are you staying in town, Paxton?”

“I moved here not too long ago” – it was hard, but Beth didn’t react to his words.

“Great! Then you should definitely come. We can go to Beth’s favorite restaurant, right, baby?”

“We’ll see, dad”

“See how she treats me?” – he joked with Paxton – “I’m going, I’m going. Bye, baby” – he kissed her cheek fondly and slapped Paxton’s arm before disappearing into the crowd.

“I’m sorry about-” – Beth tried, but Paxton’s face was soft, for once, almost... Wistful.

“He seems nice”

“He- He is”

They said little else as they navigated the throngs of people to the men’s department.

When a salesman came over to speak to them, Beth took point and told him ‘her friend’ wanted to take a look around, but they would call if they needed anything. Paxton silently, carefully started going through the racks, rough hands barely touching the soft, expensive fabrics.

“You shouldn’t spend your money on me” – he said quietly when she grabbed a shirt from the rack and eyed it intently.

“I thought we talked about this”

“I can never pay you back” – his eyes were intense and so dark she felt at a loss for words, so she returned the shirt and busied herself with looking for something that seemed like something the Paxton of before would’ve chosen for himself.

“At least I’ll be doing something good with my money. Not-” – Stuart’s screams came back to her and she shook her head – “It’s okay, it’s fine” – she put on a smile and hummed – “Do you like red?”

“You don’t have to pretend with me”

“... We’re outside”

After some more prodding, Paxton got enough clothes, shoes and accessories that would be able to get back to the apartment and toss everything the Elite bought him. He refused to try anything on, other than the shoes, and they were out of there far faster than Beth thought possible.

“Do you want to get anything else?” – she asked.

“No” – but she eyed his hair, now too long to handle.

“Maybe a haircut?”

Not an hour later, Paxton looked like a different person, with a short cut and wearing his new clothes. As they walked out, Paxton attracted several admiring looks, which made Beth feel sad.

Paxton would never have a normal life again, not one where he could stop and flirt, smile and walk away with a phone number. Paxton was hers to keep, hers to watch over, hers to imprison.

By the end of the day, he would be back in his room, and she would linger at the door, looking at his dark eyes, one hand twitching towards the lock. Maybe she could leave it open, maybe she could trust him a little bit, maybe it would be okay to allow him that little freedom.

Then she remembered the sound of that man’s head hitting the floor, the image of Paxton killing that man, and it was more than enough to drive her to squash her guilt and lock the door until morning came.

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of like this concept, so I may try to write more. =D


End file.
